And he ought to be concerned: in 2008, there were approximately 18 million eligible Latino voters; in 2012, there will be approximately 22 million eligible Latino voters. That changing demographic fact brings into sharp focus the importance of the Hispanic vote.

In the 2010 midterm elections, we witnessed Senator Harry Reid eventually hold on to his seat in Nevada – even though Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle had been gaining polling strength against him. Angle underestimated Reid's chances by placing too much confidence in the belief that Latinos would not be motivated to vote. And it was partly true that Latinos were feeling neglected by the Democratic party as hope had been lost for the Dream Act, or comprehensive immigration reform, as Latino leaders were told that the issue was shelved until 2013.

In fact, several Latino leaders were starting to feel like they were getting policy scraps from the political table. In order to ensure a strong Latino voter turnout, Reid knew that he was going to have to take a stronger leadership role – so he promised to put the Dream Act back on the floor of Congress whether he won or lost the 2010 election. He was appearing on Spanish media making this Dream Act promise days before election day. And the strategy worked as Latinos turned out to vote for him, ultimately saving his political career.

So, looking to 2012 and the race for the GOP nomination, rather than fight about who can build the tallest electric fence, Republicans have a unique opportunity to win at least the 40% of the Hispanic vote they will need for the upcoming presidential election. GOP presidential candidates need political cover from those Republican senators and representatives who are in safe seats to take on the tough issue of immigration. Those who are secure in their districts (or states) should confront the dysfunctional immigration system head-on with reasonable proposals. After all, several state Republican lawmakers have complained that the immigration system is broken – and they attribute much of the blame to the federal government.

If federal lawmakers, particularly those from the Republican party, can demonstrate their ability to address a difficult issue in a rational way, it will only serve to benefit the economy. And all Americans stand to gain if, instead of having their tax burdens raised, new tax payers can be found and nurtured. Millions of dollars are currently wasted on detaining undocumented immigrants who perform services as nannies, gardeners and fast food workers. Tax payer dollars should be spent smartly in pursuing only the undocumented who do harm to others. Republican lawmakers can win the message war – and Latino hearts – if they rely on the factual data from economists that shows how low-skilled immigrants do indeed help create more middle-class jobs for natives and contribute to the overall economy.

There is one problem which the GOP has that prevents this from happening – and his name is Lamar Smith. While it is true that Obama is deporting record numbers of immigrants, the Texas congressman penned an op-ed recently that claimed misleadingly that the administration is artificially inflating its deportation numbers. Smith, meanwhile, continues to push for enforcement-only policies through big-government, bureaucratic methods like the E-Verify program and the prison system.

There has to be a joint, concerted effort between top federal Republican lawmakers, the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee that will back GOP lawmakers in states with large Hispanic populations and put them on the right path to come up with a realistic solution to immigration reform. Just toning down the rhetoric will no longer work in this era post the harsh anti-immigrant laws of Arizona, Alabama and Georgia.

Hispanics know how closely tied the immigration issue is with jobs and the economy. They know because many of them helped build and develop entire communities across the nation when they contributed their competitive labor rates which Republicans are all for.

The Republican party must learn the lesson of the Reid/Angle election – particularly in the US southwest where Latinos are registering themselves in droves. If Obama does in 2012 what Reid did at the last minute in 2010 in order to woo Latinos to go to the polls, Republicans will rue the day they threw away millions of vital votes.

• A Spanish-language version of this article will appear here shortly

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